In the manufacture of tissue and towel products, a common step is the creping of the product. This creping is done to provide desired aesthetic and performance properties to the product. Many of the aesthetic properties of tissue and towel products rely more upon the perceptions of the consumer than on properties that can be measured quantitatively. Such things as softness, and perceived bulk are not easily quantified, but have significant impacts on consumer acceptance. Since many of the properties of tissue and towel products are controlled or are at least influenced by the creping process, it is of interest to develop methods for controlling the creping process. Although the creping process is not well understood, it is known that changes in the process can result in significant changes in the product properties. A need exists to provide a method for influencing the creping process by allowing the control of the adhesion of the tissue or towel substrate to the surface from which it is creped, most usually large cylindrical dryers known in the industry as Yankee dryers.
Obtaining and maintaining adhesion of tissue and towel products to Yankee dryers is an important factor in determining crepe quality. Inadequate adhesion results in poor or non-existing creping, whereas excessive adhesion may result in poor sheet quality and operational difficulties. Traditionally, creping adhesives alone or in combination with release agents have been applied either to the sheet or to the surface of the dryer in order to provide the appropriate adhesion to produce the desired crepe.
Various types of creping adhesives have been used to adhere fibrous webs to dryer surfaces such as Yankee dryers. Prior art creping adhesives rely upon combinations of self-crosslinkable soft polymers having a T.sub.g of less than 10.degree. C. with a non-film forming hard polymer emulsion having a T.sub.g greater than 50.degree. C. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,579) or thermoset resins (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,528,316 and 4,501,640). The ability to control the mechanical properties of the polymers, as well as the adhesion and release of the fibrous web from the Yankee dryer, is limited when using these types of creping adhesives.